Mythological Monsters in TTRPGs

How do you make a mythological monster matter in your game of DnD? We look at Medusa the Gorgon and other Greek and Roman mythology to figure out how to use the poetry and imagery of monsters in your ttrpg session! The Monster Manual will give you stat blocks, abilities, and ecological information, but this falls short of the storytelling that I like in my games!

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Statement on the OGL: As of this recording (1/8/2023), no official document has been announced on the OGL1.1. DnD, and ttrpgs, is bigger than WotC or any single corporation. It always has been. DnD was founded by scrappy zinesters, artists, and hobbyists. It has escaped every attempted for self proclaimed auteur's and corporation to contain and control it. These games REQUIRE individual creativity and the friendships of player groups. That is impossible to acquire or silence. The cause for anxiety is legitimate, but "despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not." While I wait for more complete information to see what reaction is appropriate, I will to continue talking about how making art and sharing it with your friends is wonderful. This does not now, nor will it ever, depend on what WotC says about what the think they own.

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[mapcrow]

How do you make a mythological monster matter in your game of DnD? We look at Medusa the Gorgon and other Greek and Roman mythology to figure out how to use the poetry and imagery of monsters in your ttrpg session! The Monster Manual will give you stat blocks, abilities, and ecological information, but this falls short of the storytelling that I like in my games!

[WhoisThatFreak]

Great entrance and really loved the logo animation. I can tell it will be a great video as well.

[MatthewEaton]

This is why I enjoy this channel: A lot of think on and a lot to digest. This reminds me of the Dragon Disciple in 3rd edition and how humans slowly evolved over time into dragons of their own with that prestige class. It was fun to have a character go through it and develop a mythical origin story overall.

[MrRomanGuy]

I love the idea of a giant turned into a mountain from Ovid’s description. It gives the possibility of a really cool setting for a dungeon crawl where the interior of the giant has turned to stone creating its organs into caverns. Maybe they have to travel through his GI tract to reach its head which houses some kind of treasure or final boss.

[spacemanproletariat]

Always excited to see Map Crow in my notifications - crazy how consistently high quality this channel is

[dandeliondomain]

"I'm an artist, I'm a tinkerer, and I enjoy fixing things that ain't broke!" I love this!!! I also really enjoyed your point about falling in love with your own ideas, simply because they are your own and you get to tell a story built on your own experiences. As a child I was often scared to share my own original ideas and concepts with other people, but now, I'm at a point in my life where I'm confident enough to no longer be afraid to share my creativity or my perspective!! :D

[KyleMaxwell]

The blog post on "Taxonomy" has been reshaping my thinking since I first read it. Taking it to a meta level (e.g. RPG genres and families) opened my eyes quite a bit.

[rachulus]

I think this a super great point. I am currently writing an industrial era magic world where science is just taking hold and the grim dark accult creatures are really challenging scientists. It creates a really great mystery and lots of room for interpretation. And I cannot wait to try it with my player.

[seanhill]

Love seeing how you apply your philosophy of art to DMing. I need more!!

[captaincomet]

These sorts of ideas really bring a freshness to the game, getting past “realism” in creature or monster design can open the doors to some amazing enemies. Always love your mixture of philosophy, history and also allowing a the DM to have their own rule of cool that are woven into your videos.

Hope to see you get back into the live streams on here when you find the time.

[alexanderwizardjar]

The logo animation at the start is really cool, i don't remember seeing in in later videos. Hope it makes a comeback!

[HallowLiar]

This is a huge quality jump, i love it! the voice over sounds great! the intro is amazing :)

[Myzelfa]

For what it's worth, goblins in my setting are highly mutile and all look different. They come in five different categories, but only they can tell one from another with any certainty.

[KrustalHersh]

I've been running Numenera for a few years now and have really liked being "freed" from those classical monsters and having encounters which are approached with wonder and excitement instead of assume meta knowledge.

[Visigoth_]

I really like that you have Classical influences. 😀👍

[bertramchristianbode]

Every time i need to do some world building or other dnd/dungeon master stuff, i just have to go se if Map Crow has any new contentup. Its just a hot spring of inspiration.

Love from Denmark ❤

[noreaelvago]

I need to start thinking about taxonomy in my games. I read the article too, and your reflexions about it are really interesting.

Also, I love the new intro animation.

[KB-fkjj]

I love the dedication and heart you put in each video, thank you so much!

[cainkindly]

every one of these videos are gold. i always come away feeling excited to create dnd stories

[uniquepickles]

The best, most creative, and most inspiring ttrpg channel i know, hands down. I love your stuff, your huge arsenal of ttrpg and art experience shines through a lot.